Final Fantasy VIII: Redemption
by James the Justice-sal
Summary: Squall and his fellow SeeDs are killed in an encounter with a mysterious creature attacking the Garden. Ellone falls into a coma the exact same moment. How are these events connected? Are Squall and his friends really dead? Looking to redeem themselves, the Disciplinary Committee, now led by Fujin, set out to find out the truth.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The usual peaceful countryside of Balamb was full of the sounds of battle. Searing fire, cracking thunder, and the clanging of metal.

The massive form of Balamb Garden military academy cast a shadow over the green hills and its neighboring town as it came into sight. A battle was taking place by the entrance.

The Balamb Garden student, and high ranked SeeD cadet, Squall Leonhart had his sword held out in front.

His friend, and fellow SeeD, Zell Dincht appeared at his side, his fists gripped tightly at his sides.

"Where the hell did it go!?" He shouted over the roaring wind that was gushing through the entrance.

"Prepare yourself!" Squall replied, his eyes scanning the countryside.

Suddenly, the creature they spoke of rose up slowly from underneath the garden.

Its 'head' was the first thing to come into view - a large ball of light shining brightly inside of a white shell. Two large, feathery, black wings protruded from its back. Eight lifeless sorceresses hung from them, seemingly serving no purpose other than to freak them out. A feminine figure followed, dressed in a white robe. In some ways, it resembled an angel - it was anything but. To seal the hideousness of this creature, its right arm was grotesque and overly muscular. Its bicep bulged and throbbed sickeningly.

"What is this thing?" Zell cringed.

"I don't know," Squall answered truthfully. "All I know is that it's evil and it must be dealt with."

With that said, Squall held back his sword. Fire formed along the blade, hissing and burning. He threw it forward, still keeping it gripped in his hands. The fire shot forward and splashed against the creature's body.

It let out an ear splitting screech, which also seemed to be coming from the sorceress' hanging from its wings.

"I'm no use from this range..." Zell murmured.

He took a couple steps back and heaved forward, launching his body into the air. Once in range, he thrust his foot forward, connecting with the creature's face. Its head shot backwards and Zell fell with it.

"Zell!" Squall called out, worried.

Squall had to admit, his friend had the right idea. He quickly followed, jamming his blade into its neck.

"Squall!"

Squall strained his neck to see who had called his name.

It was his fellow classmate and love, Rinoa Heartilly, with his three other friends, Quistis, Selphie and Irvine, standing beside her.

The four of them began to charge their magic without Squall's command. He ducked the oncoming barrage of fire, ice, thunder and bullets.

Another ear splitting screech later, the creature clasped hold of one of the sorceress attached to its left wing. It yanked her free and held her above its head. They both screamed as a white light engulfed them.

Squall and Zell disintegrated. Nothing remained.

"Squall!" Rinoa cried out as she reached out for her love. It was her last word. She, along with Quistis, Selphie and Irvine, who had been holding their friend back, also disintegrated.

The children of destiny were no more.

Three months later...

It had been three months since Squall and his friends had mysteriously died. It was mysterious because these were the same people that had defeated the most powerful sorceress in the history of the world. To be defeated so easily was a shock to many.

A proper funeral couldn't even be held as there were no bodies. Many of the students, including the Headmaster, Cid, and his wife, Edea, had never gotten over it.

The mysterious creature that had caused it all left as soon as it had murdered them, and hadn't been seen since.

Something else had happened that day. Ellone, the girl who had grown up with them in the orphanage, and who was like a big sister to them all, had gone into a unexplainable coma. And it had happened on the exact same day, at the exact same time.

The Garden had become a dark and solemn place...

One of the victims of the change had been the former Disciplinary committee members; Fujin, Raijin and Seifer. It hadn't been long since the headmaster had allowed them back into the Garden. Despite everything, they had been forgiven by Squall and his friends.

On that day, Cid had informed them about the attack, but they had arrived too late.

Many in the Garden had not forgiven them, and others believed they had stalled on purpose because of their history with the group. They were attacked weekly and many had requested that they be kicked out. Cid trusted and believed them, so this had not happened.

Today, it had been Fujin's turn to be attacked.

Seifer and Raijin, with both her arms draped around their shoulders, had helped her back to her room.

Fujin sat at her bed and began to bandage her bloody arm up.

"Idiots," Seifer spat. "Everyone knows you don't mess with Fujin. I hope that broken nose is really hurtin' him right about now."

"Seifer..." Fujin murmured. "Don't..."

"Tch," Seifer shook his head in annoyance.

"This is our punishment for what happened," Fujin said as she finished with her arm.

"We did nothin' wrong! We couldn't have gotten to them any faster! Plus, we probably wouldn't have made any difference, anywa... Ah, forget it," Seifer sighed and took a seat beside Fujin.

"Seifer's right, ya know," Raijin spoke up. "Nothin' we could've done."

Fujin lowered her head.

"You're right, but I can't help feel responsible."

"They're not even dead," Seifer said, simply.

"Seifer!" Fujin gasped.

"C'mon! Ellone goes into a coma the exact same day and time? Somethin' fishy's goin' on."

"That could mean anything, though," Raijin argued.

Seifer shrugged. "I'm just sayin'."

"DON'T!" Fujin shouted.

"Uh oh, the old Fujin's comin' through again, ya know," Raijin teased.

Seifer sighed as he stood up and placed an arm around Raijin's shoulder.

"Fujin fixed her speech impediment - why can't you?"

"There's nothin' wrong with the way I speak, ya know!"

"We'll talk," Seifer said to him as he led him out of the room.

Fujin shook her head at her friends as they left. They could be a handful, but they were always there for her.

She took a glance at her window and at the starlit sky. It was time to sleep. Hopefully the throbbing in her arm would be gone by tomorrow.

She began to lay back, when suddenly something flashed before her eyes in the darkness.

"... Squall?"

She was sure she had just seen Squall in the shadows. This was confirmed when he once again flashed into sight, before fizzing away, like he was on a poor quality television.

She leapt to her feet, her heart thudding against her chest. Had she gone mad? Had her tormenters finally gotten to her?

He once again flashed into view, but this time it had been near her room door. She moved slowly towards it, grabbing hold of her Missile Blade lying on the top of her dresser as she passed. She poked her head around the door and looked down the dark corridor.

Another figure flashed and fizzed away before her, but this time it had looked like Zell.

_What is going on?_

She continued forward, following them through the corridor and into the main hall. Quistis, Rinoa, Selphie and Irvine also began to appear.

She was halted in her tracks when something smashed through thin air, like glass.

It was hideous. It had the fat, green body of a Caterchipillar and the head and wings of a Bite Bug. Its pathetic wings tried to carry its hulking form over to her, but failed miserably.

Fujin pulled back her arm and let rip her Missile Blade. It skidded along the floor before slicing straight through the Bite Bug head, cutting it in half beautifully. It flopped to the floor, dead.

Fujin had no time to ponder just where exactly it had come from - she had to continue following the images.

She did, and they lead her to the outside before finally ceasing.

She squinted through the darkness and noticed someone standing facing the Garden. She couldn't make out its face. The mysterious figure apparently spotted her and leapt onto the object to its right.

_A bike_? She wondered, as she watched it zoom off towards the town of Balamb.

She began to run towards it, but felt a pain shoot through her arm and collapsed to one knee. The excitement combined with the cold air had finally done her in.

The images of her friends, the mysterious man on the bike. She would report to Headmaster Cid in the morning.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"I see..." Headmaster Cid said as soon as Fujin finished telling him about the events of last night.

The Disciplinary Committee had gathered inside the Headmaster's office.

"Well," Cid started, placing a finger against his chin in thought. "I've heard nothing like it before, but this makes me hopeful that Squall and everyone are still out there somewhere."

"Yes," Fujin agreed. "And I believe the person I saw has something to do with it."

"Then, it is decided," Cid smiled. "Seifer, head to Balamb, and find out what you can."

"Uh," Seifer grinned, awkwardly. "I'm no longer the leader of the Disciplinary Committee. That would be Fujin."

Fujin nodded.

"I see..." Cid murmured. "And why exactly have you come to that decision, Seifer?"

"Well, let's just say I failed miserably as leader last time. I'm not worthy," he said, truthfully. "I believe Fujin will do a much better job than I ever could."

"That is honest of you, Seifer," he smiled. "I will not contest it."

"Thank you," Fujin bowed her head. "I'll show the person from last night no mercy!"

"Um... try talking to him first before doing anything," Cid chuckled, nervously.

Fujin bowed once again, before taking her leave with Seifer and Raijin.

"I'm surprised you all believed me," Fujin said as the three of them exited Balamb Garden.

"Why's that?" Seifer queried.

"Well, it _was_ a ridiculous sounding story. The images; the weird fusion of a Bite Bug and Caterchipillar monster; a man shrouded in darkness riding away on a motorbike…"

"We live in a world of sorceresses, magic, and hideous creatures - I'll believe anything," Seifer grinned as his eyes moved slowly away from Fujin's. "Plus - there's that!"

Fujin looked at where Seifer's outstretched finger was pointing and gasped at the sight.

It looked like another amalgamation of two monsters; this time it seemed to be a T-Rexaur and a Glacial Eye. The body and head of the T-Rexaur was intact, but its eyes and tail were that of the Glacial Eye.

"Somethin' weird's goin' on, ya know," Raijin stated the obvious while holding his staff out in front.

"I don't even wanna know how these things breed!" Seifer cringed as he pointed his gunblade at the creature.

"I don't think they're breeding," Fujin said. "It has to be something else."

"Let's talk later!" Raijin suggested.

With that said, Raijin made the first move. He spun his staff above his head before striking it into the ground. A huge jolt of electricity sparked along the ground, spraying grass and dirt everywhere. It enveloped the creature, zapping its scaly skin.

Fujin saw her opening. She clasped her Missile Blade in her right hand and began to spin on the spot. A furious wind surrounded her. The wind finally left its host and headed towards the creature, sweeping it up into its vortex.

"Let's finish this!" Seifer shouted.

He launched over his target and swiped his blade through the air, forming a fiery cross beneath the creature. The fire exploded, consuming it.

Seifer landed back onto the ground, as did the creature, but its was in defeat, not victory.

The three friends looked over the charred mess in front of them.

"What's… happening…?" Fujin murmured slowly.

"That's why we're going to Balamb – to find out," answered Seifer.

Fujin nodded, and the three of them continued on their way.

A few minutes later, they had finally reached the seaside town of Balamb.

The fresh sea breeze wafted through Fujin's silver hair.

"Alright; let's ask around to see if anyone saw that guy," Seifer said, determined.

"I believe I am the leader," Fujin gave Seifer a cold look. "If anyone's giving orders, it'll be me."

"Alright, alright," Seifer sighed, defeated.

"Alright; let's ask around to see if anyone saw that guy," she repeated Seifer's words, and started forward.

"Hey!" Seifer protested, but was ignored.

Fujin asked the people around the weapons shop, including Zell's mother. They hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary.

She tried asking around the item shop and train station. Again, they had seen nothing.

Fujin wasn't surprised. All she had to go on was the motorbike he had been riding.

She decided to try one last place; the inn. She made her way over.

Once she had reached the inn doors, she came to a sudden halt. There was a motorbike propped up against the inn's walls. She had no idea if it was the exact same bike, as it had been dark when she had seen it, but it wasn't like motorbikes were a common thing around these parts.

She burst through the doors and jogged over to the receptionist.

Fujin slammed her hands down onto the desk, startling her, and asked, "Is there anyone staying here right now?"

"J-just the one person," .she stammered in fright.

"I must speak with him," she said simply, and she made her way up the steps, ignoring the girls' protests.

Fujin swung open the first door so hard it crashed against the wall, startling a young couple in the room.

"You own a bike?" She asked with a cold stare.

The two shook their heads, fear plastered all over their faces.

She threw open the second door, only to find it empty.

She clutched hold of the final doors' handle and shoved it open with more force than the others combined. It crashed against the wall, making the whole room shake.

A man was stood with his back to her, having had no reaction to the noise.

"You own a bike?" She asked, once again.

The man slowly turned to face her. His medium length, brown hair came into view. Small blotches of blonde were randomly dispersed all around it. He had a handsome face with tanned skin, not that Fujin noticed.

"Yes…" he replied to her question.

She slowly shut the door behind her.

"Then, we need to talk."


End file.
